My Hero Academia: Burning Bright/Chapter 6
Where I Belong ---- “You ready, Sunshine?” Aki felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up as Hana grabbed it. “We gotta prepare.” Aki had been so focused on her own nerves that she forgot for a moment what she was doing. This Daichi guy. Aki thought. J''ust how powerful is he?'' “Get your head out of the clouds.” Hana rested her hand on Aki’s head, giving her a gentle shake. “I need you at your best.” “Right!” Aki blushed and turned to Hana. Together the two of them walked to their designated building, standing outside until they got started. Aki secured the radio in her ear so that she could talk to Hana if they got separated. “We’re lucky that we got paired against two people whose Quirks we actually know.” Hana pointed out. “Though I’m not quite sure what Daichi is capable of.” She crossed her arms and sighed. “If I had to guess, your Quirk is probably best suited to handling his. He controls stone, so you can destroy anything he makes with your light.” “I’ll try my best.” Aki promised, but she wasn’t quite sure on how she would do that. Daichi had the second highest score in the entrance exam and was ranked fourth during their Quirk assessment test. Aki looked at Hana. Both Hana and Miyako ranked high as well. Much higher than me, can I really compete against them? What if I let Hana down. “Don’t look so scared.” Hana assured Aki with a big smile. “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, Aki. Just get out there and try your best.” Hana’s words were encouraging, but Aki still felt fear brewing inside of her. “Get ready, heroes!” Aki jumped slightly at hearing All Might speak in her ear. “The timer starts now!” Aki clenched her fists and looked to Hana who gave a stern nod. “Let’s do this.” Hana declared and the two of them entered the building. Both girls kept to the wall and walked silently. Hana took the lead, peering around corners before moving forward. The building was hauntingly silent, they had no idea where the villains had made their base, or where they would be coming out. They had to be prepared for anything. Aki and Hana advanced up to the second floor and there was still no sign of the villains. They have to be somewhere. Aki thought. As Aki and Hana rounded the corner of a nearby hallway, she could feel the floor beneath her feet begin to shake. “Look out!” Aki felt Hana grab her arm and rip her to the side. In an instant, the floor shot upwards, forming a large wall where the two of them had been standing. Hana landed gracefully on her feet while Aki stumbled backwards, falling against her teammate. The newly formed stone formation broke down a few moments, revealing Daichi standing at the end of the hallway. “Finally found you.” His mouth was twisted into a grin and his brown eyes were dark. The lines around Hana’s dragon tattoo shimmered for a moment before lifting from her skin, taking the defense in front of them. A fight is happening. Aki grit her teeth and started forming balls of light in her hands. I have to be ready! We can do this! Daichi took a strong step forward and the stone floor started shooting up once again. Aki was able to dodge on her own this time, her and Hana jumped to either side of the wall. Once Aki landed she extended her arm and fired a bolt of light. Daichi quickly dodged and kicked out a hunk of floor in her direction. Aki braced herself and fired another bolt of light. The rock shattered into tiny pieces and fell to the ground. Hana was right, I can easily destroy his attacks. Aki spotted Hana running forward, her dragon ready to strike. Daichi kicked his foot back and the floor shot up underneath his foot, allowing him to leap into the air and avoid Hana’s attack. Next Hana unleashed her cobra, which followed Daichi as he leapt through the air. He was coming straight for Aki, she had to dodge quickly. Aki tried to get out of the way, but misjudged where Daichi was. His foot connected with her shoulder and he kicked her to the ground. Aki caught herself on her hands and tried to roll away from his next attack. Daichi kicked her hard in the side, she felt pain rip through her entire body. Aki hit the ground painfully, gritting her teeth in pain. Shit! She wasn’t sure she could take another hit. Daichi seemed to be too focused on Aki, she spotted Hana running in from behind. Aki didn’t reveal this to him, this was a perfect chance. Hana had the capture tape gripped in her hand. Hana reached down to her leg where she activated one of the vines around her leg. She swung it forward like a whip, wrapping it around Daichi’s arm. “What the?” He looked over his shoulder at Hana who held the vine tightly. “Stupid.” He said through clenched teeth. With a shift of one of his feet, he shot a small earth wall towards Hana who quickly jumped out of the way. Aki had been so focused on watching Hana that she forgot that Daichi was still a problem, as Hana dodged his attack Daichi turned back to Aki and delivered a powerful punch to the chest. She gasped in pain and fell directly on her back. I can’t take any more hits! Aki couldn’t find him hand-to-hand, did he sense that? Aki scrambled to her feet and began running. With her heart pounding in her chest, she ran down the twisting hallways with no real idea where she was going. She could hear Daichi giving chase. “Some hero you are1 Running away like a coward!” I need to get my bearings. Aki continued running forwards. “''Aki!” She heard Hana’s voice in her ear. “''Are you okay?” Aki came to a stop, breathing heavily, she pressed herself against a wall, hoping that Daichi had either turned on Hana or had lost her. “Yeah,” Aki replied. “I didn’t want to run, but I had to collect myself. Sorry.” “''Don’t apologize.” Hana assured her. “''For some reason he seems really focused on fighting you, he doesn’t want anything to do with me. Just keep him busy while I hunt down their base of operations. This is exactly the plan I wanted. Just hang in there, alright? You got this.” “Alright.” Aki wasn’t sure she could hold her own against Daichi, maybe if she managed to keep him at a distance. I can’t let him get close to me, if he does then I lose. Aki cursed herself for not learning any hand-to-hand combat. “Come out, come out wherever you are!” She heard Daichi’s voice, he wasn’t far. I can get the jump on him, he doesn’t know where I am! Aki pressed herself against the wall and crept towards the end. She could hear heavy footsteps, he wasn’t trying to hide himself at all. Still, maybe I can get him by surprise. Aki clenched her fist, taking a deep breath and waiting for Daichi to get closer. He was in the corridor directly next to her hers, now was her chance. Aki jumped out from her hiding spot, finding herself face to face with Daichi. She fired a powerful bolt of light towards Daichi. As the light landed, smoke filled the air and obscured Aki’s vision. Did I hit him? No! Daichi shot out through the smoke, his foot hit the floor and he shot up three large chunks of floor. Aki raised both her hands, destroying the chunks as they flew towards her. Her narrowed his eyes for a split second. He ran forward, but Aki used her Quirk to propel herself backwards, she needed to keep as much distance between herself and Daichi as possible. I have to keep this up. She told herself. I won’t let Hana down! ---- Hana proceed to the staircase, she didn’t want to leave Aki by herself but if they both tried to fight Daichi they would just end up wasting precious time. She doesn’t seem like she has a lot of combat experience. Hana thought. But if she can keep her distance from him, she can win or at least keep him busy. Hana could see that Aki had the drive to become a hero, but she had a lot to learn in both physical skill and personal skill. She doesn’t trust herself. Hana wanted to sit down and talk with Aki, she wanted to encourage her to be the best she could be. Hana climbed the staircase to the third floor and began running up and down the hallways, trying to find where Miyako was hiding. “Daichi, come in.” As Hana neared the distant corner of the third floor. “This kid,” She grumbled. Daichi running off to fight clearly hadn’t been part of their plan. A better plan would have been for Daichi to devote his Quirk to protecting this room, he could easily keep both of us at bay while Miyako fought us off. Either way, Hana would use this the best she could. She just hoped that Aki could hold her own against Daichi, at least until Aki could win. Miyako is hard to fight since she’s so quick. Hana looked down at the vines across her skin. But if I can restrain her, I can easily capture her. Hana crept towards the entrance to the room where Miyako was waiting, she stood in front of the switch, both of her weapons firmly in her hands. She was on high alert, Hana wouldn’t be able to sneak up on her. She would have to come up with another plan. Miyako is focused on waiting for signs of our Quirks or fighting, she’s very focused but I think if--'' Hana pulled a black marker from her chest pocket and drew a small coin on the back of her hand. Once the drawing was complete Hana was able to remove the coin from her skin. ''I’ve only seen this in movies and video games, so let's see if it actually works. Hana tossed the coin from where she stood, she would only have a moment before Miyako realized what was happening. The coin hit and she heard an audible “Huh?” from Miyako. Now! Hana darted around the corner with both her dragon and viper at the ready, they shot forward going directly for Miyako. Miyako barely realized what was happening in time. She blocked the attack with her weapons but it pushed her backwards. Hana spotted the switch on the back wall, Miyako wasn’t going to let her close to it without a fight. “I can’t believe I actually fell for a coin toss.” “I’m just as shocked as you are.” Hana drew her tattoos back and allowed them to stay at her side, she clenched her fist. I’ve got a fight on my hands and I don’t plan on losing. ---- The floor exploded around Aki, she barely had enough time to jump away from the shattering floor. Daichi was completely destroying the floor around them, but then again he was supposed to be a villain. Aki landed and fired another bolt of light which Daichi dodged with ease. I haven’t managed to hit him once! Aki had done well at keeping him away from her, but she also couldn’t land a hit on him but her plan was flawed. I can’t capture him if I don’t let him in close. So I just have to count on Hana to win this for us! She hoped that Hana had found Miyako and would be ending this fight soon. Daichi launched himself towards Aki once again, she twisted away from where he was heading and prepared to fire again. Daichi touched his hand to a nearby wall and it cracked around his touch, he tore out a hunk of the wall with ease. He can use his hands too!? Aki had only seen him moving the stone with his feet. The shock didn’t allow Aki to counter the attack and the chunk of wall hit her directly on the stomach. Aki’s felt the air rush out of her lungs, she landed flat on her back on the cracked floor. She felt dazed and struggled to breathe. The pain was almost overwhelming. Daichi ran forward, closing the distance between the two of them in an instant. He was coming in for a punch, Aki didn’t know how to deflect it. She raised one arm weakly but it wasn’t able to do anything against his attack. His first connected with the side ofher face and sent Aki backwards. She hit the ground and held her hand against her face. She could feel tears forming in her eyes from the pain. Dammit! “That defense.” Daichi spoke, looking down at Aki. She flipped over to face him, her body trembling with both fear and pain. I’m going to lose! I have to run again. Aki’s body, however, felt too battered and beaten to run. “Do you seriously not know how to fight?” Daichi laughed loudly, his eyes growing dark. “Did you really think you could get by on your Quirk alone? You’re even stupider than you look!” Daichi charged forwards once again, Aki wanted to fire a bolt of light but Daichi was too close, too quick. He punched her once again, it was incredibly powerful and sent her flying back once again. She slid across the ground, gritting her teeth to try and stifle the pain. I can’t do this. “People like you don’t deserve to be in a place like this.” Daichi punched once again just as Aki stumbled to her feet, she fell to the floor once again. Daichi moved too quickly for her to even try and keep up with. Daichi grabbed Aki’s arm and pulled her off the floor, twisting it while he did so. Aki tried to break away from him, but his grip was too tight. “You don’t belong here!” His fist connected with the center of her spine, sending Aki flying forwards. Her body hit the back wall and she slid to the ground. Her entire body was sore and she tasted blood. I-I can’t keep this up. Her body shook and she was physically unable to lift herself off the floor. It’s over for me. ---- Hana quickly ducked out of the way as Miyako swung her weapon, her dragon shot forward and took the cattleprod in its mouth, ripping it from Miyako’s hand. One more to go! Hana ducked an attack from Miyako’s left hand which was still armed. She landed on her back on the floor and shot her Viper forward. The Viper wrapped around the weapon and once again Miyako lost her weapon. Both were scattered on opposite sides of the room. If Miyako wanted to pick them up, she would leave the switch unguarded. She called her wings back and jumped up, over Hana. She dived down with her fist extended, Hana wasn’t able to dodge completely and took a pretty hard punch to the arm. The hit knocked Hana off balance but she was able to recover quickly. Her tattoos had yet to be destroyed so they were still ready to go. They moved forward yet again and Miyako kicked the viper first, the physical attack was enough to destroy its physical form the snake returned to Hana’s arm. I doubt she knows I can reuse them instantly. Hana thought as she dodged another kick. I’ll wait for the right moment. Hana reached for one of the vines on her leg and lashed out with it, she managed to wrap it around Miyako’s ankle and with a swift motion, pulled the flying hero the ground. '' Now! Gotta be quick!'' Hana jumped over Miyako and left her on the ground, she ran as fast as she could towards the switch. Miyako was already back on her feet and with her wings ready, she was giving chase. Now! Hana activated and shot her viper forward towards the switch. Miyako was getting close, Hana jumped forward to give herself and the viper closer to the switch. Hana’s body hit the ground but the viper was close enough, it took the switch in its mouth and pulled it down, sounding the alarm and ending the fight. ---- “Remember this fight,” Daichi spoke again. Aki had to lean up against the wall to keep herself up. “Remember me when you’re thrown out of this school.” Daichi made a fist, ready to attack again. Aki winced, closing her eyes and bracing for impact. Instead of a punch came a siren. The fight is...over? She opened her eyes slowly and saw that Daichi looked just as shocked as she felt. “Wha--” “Heroes win!” All Might’s voice rang out through their radios. We won? Aki thought of Hana, she had clearly been able to overcome Miyako. Daichi scoffed and started to turn around. “You may have won,” Daichi grumbled. “But you did nothing, you’re worthless.” Somehow, his words stung more than the pain he had inflicted on her. Aki struggled to pull herself against the wall her entire body was in severe pain. She soon heard footsteps and saw Hana approaching, she was untouched and didn’t even look that tired. “Damn,” Hana looked around the damage that Daichi had caused. “That kid’s Quirk is ridiculous.” Hana ran up to Aki and helped her to her feet, Aki couldn’t help but wince at all the pain. “You alright, Sunshine?” Aki nodded slowly. “I think so.” She admitted, her voice dry. “Everything just hurts, that’s all. I don’t think anything is broken though.” She put her hand over her ribs, they may have came close but Aki was still able to stand with some help. “Let’s go meet up with the rest of our class, All Might is going to want to review what we’ve done.” Great. Aki stared at the floor as they walked out of the building. I forgot that everyone was watching. Everyone saw me fail. The four students returned to the rest of the class, upon seeing Miyako Aki noticed a few bruises on Miyako’s arms, but other than that Aki had sustained the most damage. I couldn’t do anything. She grit her teeth and stifled back tears at her own embarrassment. “Welcome back heroes!” All Might greeted eagerly. Aki noticed Satomi smiling at her, but she couldn’t return it. She stared at the floor, ignoring her friend’s gaze. I don’t know if I can handle this. “The MVP I’ve chosen for this match is none other than Young Hana.” Aki looked at Hana. She deserves it. Aki thought. “She quickly assessed the situation and took advantage of it. Daichi was too focused on fighting Aki, he let Hana get by and did nothing to try and stop her, and Aki fought well but is clearly lacking in certain skills.” All Might’s words stung deep. “Miyako put up a good fight, but in the end I believe Hana is most deserving of this title.” Miyako nodded slowly while Daichi just stood with crossed arms. All Might wrapped up the review quickly and moved on to the next match. “Our next will be Team I as the heroes and Team E as the villains!” Aki looked to her classmates, Team I was Arai and Saki and team E was Saburo and Ayame. “Villains proceed to the building while the heroes will prepare outside.” Aki watched the two teams venture out of the observation room while the rest of them began to talk. “That was a pretty intense fight.” Aki heard Satomi’s voice as she walked up to her, resting her hand on Aki’s shoulder. “You alright? You look pretty beat up.” “Yeah.” Aki kept her voice low, she feared if she spoke too loudly she would start to cry. Her body was sore, but she wouldn’t let it show. “I’m fine.” “Hey,” Satomi leaned in close, lowering her voice. “I want you to know that you can talk to me if you need to. I can see that something is bothering you.” Aki took a deep breath. “Thank you, Satomi.” Aki said quietly. “But I’m okay, really.” She forced a smile, she wasn’t sure if Satomi was buying it, but even if she wasn’t, she dropped it. The third match begun and Aki wanted to watch and learn, she would be better, she would never lose a match like that again.